Job Announcements of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association

Monday, October 15, 2012

Assistant Professor, Information Storage & Retrieval

The School of Library and Information Studies at University of Oklahoma invites nominations and applications for a tenure-track faculty position to begin fall 2013 at the rank of Assistant Professor. The successful candidate will have responsibility for research, teaching, and service at the graduate and undergraduate levels and will be based at the University of Oklahoma’s Norman campus.

The mission of OU SLIS is to provide excellence in education, preparing leaders for a diverse, highly technological, information-based global society; to engage in research and creative activities that generate new knowledge and applications for effective practice and that foster interdisciplinary approaches to address information challenges; and to meet the complex information needs of society through public and professional service. The School’s research, teaching, and creative activities focus on ethical use of information, intellectual freedom, open access, applications of information and communications technologies, and services to diverse populations with special emphasis on Native Americans. OU SLIS offers specialized tracks in traditional library settings and supports the development of skills, knowledge, and attitudes required in information agencies and in positions of information management, storage, organization, access, and use within profit and not-for-profit institutions.

The School has two degree programs: an ALA-accredited master’s degree in library and information studies (MLIS) and a bachelor of arts in information studies (BAIS). Faculty members are located on two campuses, the main campus in Norman, and at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa. Courses are delivered face-to-face and by interactive video at both locations and are distributed online to students across the United States and Canada. Students may complete both programs entirely online. Further information about the School is available at: slis.ou.edu

The faculty position is a nine-month appointment and includes teaching four courses each academic year at the School’s main sites in Norman and Tulsa and other instructional sites when needed. The SLIS faculty employ a range of synchronous and asynchronous modalities at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. We are seeking an individual whose research, teaching, and creative activities will contribute to OU SLIS’s long-standing tradition of ensuring equity of information access for all while forwarding a cutting edge program of information management.

Required Qualifications: Requirements for the position include a completed doctoral degree in library and information science or a related field by the date of appointment, a record of published research or demonstrated research potential, the ability to work with multiple internal and external constituencies, and the ability to teach and develop courses related to information storage and retrieval.
Preferred Qualifications: Teaching emphasis in one or more of the following areas: information retrieval technologies on the Web, data or text mining, information representation and/or visualization, organization of large datasets for discovery and re-use. Interest in e-science data curation, health and/or social/community informatics with an emphasis in information retrieval aspects will be given additional consideration. Experience or demonstrated ability in the design and delivery of courses in a variety of formats, including distance-learning modes is preferred.

Salary: The salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience. The University of Oklahoma offers an excellent benefits program.
Position available: August 16, 2013. Screening of applicants will begin immediately. Applications will be considered until the position is filled.

Application: Send application materials including letter of application, a statement of research interest, curriculum vitae, and three letters of reference via email to: Cecelia Brown (cbrown@ou.edu) and June Abbas (jmabbas@ou.edu) with a copy to Jenifer Fryar (jfryar@ou.edu).

Representatives from the Search Committee will be available at the American Society for Information & Technology (ASIS&T) and Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) conferences.

Norman, where OU is located, has been ranked among the best places to live in numerous surveys. It has a vibrant art and cultural community, is very affordable, and is located close to major cities. The campus is beautifully landscaped, is one of the most wired in the nation, and boasts of many top-ranked academic and athletic programs.”

The University of Oklahoma is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer and encourages diversity in the workplace. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.